Okay....

Now I hear we've offered a 4-year contract to Chris Neil.

Time the fuck out. I see what's happening here. You know that movie The Parent Trap? Glen Sather and Bobby Clarke got into a fight. And they switched bodies! And now the Flyers are sitting around signing Brian Boucher and little else, while Sather is going out trying to collect all the goons I hate on the same team!

Quick, someone call Disney! Maybe they can sue us back into reason.

Okay, quick thought exercise for you. First, a recap: We know we decided to let Orr go, and we know he signed for another team for $1 million a year. We know we decided not to qualify Sjostrom at $0.88 million, but did pick up Brian Boyle at $0.83 million. We also know we decided not to pursue Betts. We signed Brashear for $1.4 million a year, and now we're going after Neil.

Now, let's be as generous as we can to Sather. Let's say that he can get Neil, outmaneuvering 2 other teams that are bidding for him, without spending more than $1.5 million a year. That seems a little low, but we're being generous. Let's also say that Betts is going to go for $2.5 million a year somewhere else. Again, very generous to Sather - maybe that price tag is why we're not pursuing him. Even with those numbers, which 4th line would you rather have:

Sjostrom - Betts - Orr, for $4.4 million
Neil - Boyle - Brashear, for $3.7 million

Just sayin'.